March 18, 2017

Bihar Gram Swaraj Yojna Society, Govt. of Bihar

webmaster March 18, 2017

“Bihar Gram Swaraj Yojna Society” was registered in
2010 under Society’s Registration Act, 1860 under the aegis of
Panchayati Raj Department, Govt. of Bihar. The Society under its by-laws
is governed with a General Body headed by Development Commissioner,
Govt. of Bihar as its Chairperson and Principal Secretary / Secretary of
eleven Departments under Govt. of Bihar as its Members. This body has
the mandate to meet at least once in year to review the physical &
financial progress of the programs that the Society is supposed to
implement. The next is an Executive Committee chaired by the Principal
Secretary / Secretary as its Chairperson and representatives from the
same set of eleven departments of the state government. The Society was created as a special purpose vehicle for
implementation of a World Bank aided project under the name of “Bihar
Panchayat Strengthening Project”. The Society is committed to implement
the project in 12 districts of the state vis-à-vis Patna, Nalanda,
Bhojpur, Rohtas, Gaya, Aurangabad, Saharsa, Supaoul, Madhepura,
Darbhanga, Samastipur & Madhubani (post restructuring). The project
design is to assist the state government in in the processes of
decentralization that includes infrastructure support &
strengthening the Gram Panchayats in ways & means that lead to
self-sustainable democratic bodies, with equal access to every citizen,
under the Gram Panchayat, in planning the development activities that
addresses the local needs through a robust collective decision making
processes.It is extremely important that the plans & activities under the
“Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project” are so design that leads to
achievement of the objectives aspired under the 73rdConstitutional
Amendment, 1993. The project has a very clear objective – to promote and
ensure “inclusive”, “responsive”,
“accountable” & “transparent” gram panchayats. In order to achieve
the same the project has four components each serving precious roles.
The first of them is Component 1: “Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans” split in to
two sub-components – Component 1 (a): Construction of 330 Panchayat
Sarkar Bhawans” as per the existing model & design of the state
government, and Component 1 (b): 330 Functional Gram Panchayats in the
12 Project Districts. The purpose of this component is to assist the
ambitious plan of the state government to provide every panchayat in the
state with its own “Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan” in a phased manner.Simultaneously, the project aims to demonstrate successes in terms of
“Gram Panchayats” operating full throttle in delivering on the aims
& objects of the project with assisting 330 Gram Panchayats, where
the state government has already built Panchayat Sarkar Bhawans from
other sources in the 12 project districts, with skilled human resources,
in addition to the necessary ongoing capacity development programs. The
aim is to demonstrate successes that are self-sustainable in way that
is easy to replicate and scaled up for rest of the panchayats in Bihar.The Component 2: PRIs Institutional Strengthening with four
sub-components Component 2 (a): Core Institutional Capacity Building
that aims to equip the elected representatives under Panchayati Raj
Institutions to meet up to the expectations of the people in terms of
the required role defined for them under “Bihar Panchayati Raj Act,
2006” and amendments, thereof. Component 2.1 (b): Civic Engagement aims
to providing a platform for the citizens that will help understand the
citizens the role & responsibilities that they are expected to play
in the eco-system of the Gram Panchayat in a face-to-face contact
program for the citizens, with multiple activities. Component 2.1 (c):
Communication & Mass Media that has the aspiration of producing
motivational awareness generation materials that prompts them to act
with utmost seriousness and unparalleled zeal to make their panchayats
par excellence, at every possible front that leads to upgrading the
quality of life for the citizens. Component 2.1 (d): Building Gram
Panchayat Financial Management Capacity, which is defined for the
purpose of assisting the Gram Panchayats become accountable with every
financial transaction captured in real terms and real time.The Component 2.2: Strengthening Development Capacity of the
Panchayats through which the project shall assist the panchayats in
understanding the very importance of safe drinking water &
sanitation have in the lives of the rural masses.The Component 3: Strengthen the Capacity to Manage Decentralization,
which is to ensure that the Gram Panchayats take up the onus of their
responsibilities and deliver in accordance with spirit as enshrined
under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, 1993 and subsequently detailed
out in Bihar Panchayati Raj Act, 2006. The component shall provide
infrastructural system setting for mandatorily recording the
transactions of the businesses of the Gram Panchayats in electronic and
manual formats.The Component 4: Project Management & Coordination is to support
the project in administrative terms including human resource management
and monitoring & evaluation of the project in terms of its
performances.The project is time-bound and is expected to perform strictly in
adherence to the time lines specified for each of the activities.
Therefore, it is essential to lay down an annual action plan for each of
the years in its life cycle. In order to perform up to the expectations
and beyond, the Annual Action Plan 2016-17 for all the activities under
“Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project” is comprehensively laid down
for understanding at every level of its administrative units. It is
further emphasized that the plans are easy to comprehend for anyone and
everyone, without exceptions. The Annual Action Plan, 2016-17 of BGSYS is a reflection of the
Society, implementing Bihar Panchayat Strengthening Project, in action.
This document attempts to put in the intended set of activities, with
budget, that shall lead to attaining the aim & objectives in the
shortest possible time, yet without compromising on quality and/or
accuracy. The document, though, is sacrosanct remains a live document,
which with approval from the appropriate authorities may be altered /
tailored to best suit the purposes in accordance with needs emerging
from the practical helm of affairs.This document is prepared against the facts laid down in the legal
documents related to the Society and Project mandates – on-ground
actions for the necessary transformation in the ways of the local
self-governance systems at the level of Gram Panchayats & beyond,
i.e. to cater to the precise and accurate needs of the citizens. In
doing so utmost care was observed seeking opinions from the concerned
office bearers in the Society and jurisprudence of the team at the
disposal of the Society, with diverse backgrounds, especially of those,
who have practical understandings of the systems in place for the
spectrum of services to meet the legitimate rights of the people as per
the laws of the land, in the rural set up in Bihar.With archetypical understanding of the existing plight of the people
in the rural setting, eternally suffering from their own inaction, the
project in its very first year of action, after it’s restructuring,
proposes to evict from the archaic & stereotype mindset to address
the miseries of the people in the hinterland, replacing the same with
professionally managed off-beat approach that is designed to make the
masses accountable for the pathetic situation, that possesses them
without any clue to turn the table around, with a very-loud-ongoing
insistence to prompt people to take charge of their own situation and
act strictly in accordance with the democratic principles to get their
rights delivered substantially without excuse, that too, on-time
forever, thereafter. In simple terms, the golden phrase is “Civic
Engagement”.